Unfortunately, Suzy was in the middle of a major lacquer-job … not really a place for two littles to be running around. And I didn’t really want to be breathing in lacquer, either. Especially not in an enclosed space.

So we didn’t even unload.

We just gave Suzy a wave, and wished her luck with her project, loaded up the dogs and headed out.

Ever since Abby posted her incredibly unabashed taquito recipe, I’ve been struggling to find time to make shredded chicken so I could either follow suit, or just make some tacos.

And ever since Abby posted the taquitos recipe I’ve been doing a totally unscientific poll about how people make their shredded chicken (and, in fact, I’ve NOT asked Abby how she shreds chicken … Abby, how do you prepare your shredded chicken?)

Some people use just chicken breasts.

Some use chicken on the bone.

Some use it already de-boned.

Some people bake their chicken.

Some fry it.

Some roast.

Some braise.

It’s apparently as personal a choice as what kind of toothpaste you use (we use Nature’s Gate Anise Natural Dentrifice … you?)

Basically, what I’m discovering is there is no really wrong way to shred your chicken.

But in case you don’t yet have a way that you’re committed to, I would suggest you give this braising a go, because the thing about braising (especially when it includes a little apple cider vinegar and garlic and onions and bone broth) is you end up with an incredibly succulent shredded poultry that falls off the bone and makes any recipe that calls for it taste even better …

Sure … it takes two and half hours to cook (it was 30 minutes in the oven when we decided we couldn’t wait last night and ended up ordering Chinese).

But today (regardless of the bloat from the bad food last night), we’re happy to have a vat of shredded chicken that we’ll be able to use in tacos for lunch … chicken salad for dinner … or maybe a pot-pie … or Abby’s taquitos! … the options are endless!

If the chicken you have still has skin, peel the skin, trim the fat and separate the legs and thighs.

Heat the broth in a large dutch oven on your stove top. Whisk in the salt, pepper and apple cider vinegar. Add the onion quarters and garlic. (The onion almost acts as a “stand” upon which you layer the chicken … keeps it out of direct contact with the liquid at first).

Turn off the heat and start stacking your chicken on top of the onion.

Once it’s all in, turn the heat back on and bring the liquid to a boil. Once that happens (which only takes a moment), put the lid on your dish and pop it in the oven.

Let it slow cook for two and half hours.

(About halfway through the process, give the contents of the dutch oven a good toss, rotating the chicken from the bottom to the top and vice versa so it gets a nice even cook.)

Remove it from the oven, take off the lid and let the chicken cool enough that it’s not so hot you can’t touch it.

Use a large fork to remove the chicken from the bones (discarding the bones and the onion)

And this is what’s left in the pot …

At this point, drain the liquid and separate the chicken into meal portions (freeze what you don’t need immediately, or just make a plan for a lot of tasty chicken in the next few days). As of this moment, I’m planning on tacos, taquitos, chicken salad and maybe a pot pie.

We had a simple dinner … fried chicken, roasted root veggies, a salad and apple pie with maple coconut ice cream. It was delicious. And perfectly Abby.

But before I share my “ancient family secret” for tasty dairy free coconut milk ice cream (which we love, even though we aren’t a dairy free family), I’d like to take a moment to say something about Abby.

Because she’s pretty amazing.

She’s one of those people who can immediately make everyone comfortable … just by walking into the room.

She’s an incredible mom … one of those moms who makes it look really easy. She can stop an argument between toddlers without interrupting her train of thought.

Her photographs … well … she didn’t give me permission to repost these but … her photographs speak for themselves (she does family portraits and baby photos … in case you’re interested 🙂

The thing is … Abby is love. Not the air-kiss-on-the-cheek-love ya-mean it-love. But Genuine Love.

Unpretentious.

Unassuming.

Unadulterated love.

She is love of family.

Love of friends.

Love of food.

Love of life.

And all of that love permeates everything she does and everyone she meets.

Which makes me a pretty lucky gal, actually (not to turn this into a post about me) … You see, I’m one of those people who believe that we do get to choose our family. Sure, we’re born into a unit. Mom. Dad. Sisters. Brothers. Aunts. Uncles. blah blah blah. But we spend our lives accumulating the people we want to share it with. We get to choose our mate. We choose our friends. So why not choose people with whom we’d like to have as family? Who we love and respect and enjoy.

So … I’m the lucky one. That day at the Dinosaur Playground when our little one decided that Abby’s little guy was going to be her friend.

2 14 oz. cans of organic coconut milk (we use full fat because I like the creamy ice cream texture! “Light” will make it more like ice milk)

2/3 cup of maple syrup

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon of salt

DIRECTIONS:

Whisk together all of the ingredients.

Turn on your ice cream maker.

Once it’s spinning, pour in the coconut milk mixture.

Let it spin for about 15 minutes (checking occasionally to make sure things are progressing) — the time spent in the ice cream machine is going to depend on your ice cream maker. Fifteen-twenty minutes is about as long as it needs to go in our Cuisinart ICE-21.

It will start to “firm up.” Before it becomes butter-like, remove from the ice cream maker into a freezer safe container and freeze for a few hours before serving.

I'm Jeanne, a transplanted Montana mama doing my best (along with my Cowboy honey and our two not-so-little wild-things) to build a happy, healthy, wholesome and sustainable life for our family and the future.

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I hope you find the information at O’Mamas interesting and thought provoking. My goal is to share family friendly recipes, ideas for simplifying and living a more sustainable life. It is not meant to give medical advice or to make any health claims on the prevention or curing of diseases. I am not a medical professional. I'm just moms, sharing my own experiences and ideas. Please consult your own, qualified health care professional before making changes to your diet or exercise regime.

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